The Elementals
by 7 Phoenix Wings
Summary: Everyone knew the Avatar since he was pretty important. But as always, history swept equally important people under the rug. Now they are only known through the myths of the individual nations. The myths tell of powerful beings who could safely harness an element's full potential. They WERE the elements. They helped the Avatar save the world & defend the Nations. ON HOLD.
1. Fire

A/N – Unfortunately, I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Or the characters. Just my character Nika. For now. Muahahahaha!

Fire – Zuko

Zuko looked back and saw a shadow flitting behind them. It had been following him & Uncle for days now. When he had told Uncle yesterday, Uncle just shrugged and said if the person wanted to come, he or she would come. Zuko shook his head, no matter what; he would confront the stranger when it was time to set up camp. As if on cue, Uncle stopped the ostrich horse & said,

"We'll set up camp here tonight." Zuko smiled grimly; time to deal with the intruder. "Since you're going to the forest, pick up some firewood." Uncle continued as he took out the camping bags & water canteens. Zuko sighed and went inside the forest. It was cooler inside the forest, the shadows creating a welcome reprieve from the heat, even for a Firebender. The shadow flitted in front of Zuko. He chased after it, until they reached a clearing.

"You were noisier than a komodo rhino." The stranger commented wryly.

"Who are you & why are you following us?" Zuko asked angrily.

"I'm Nika & I wasn't really following you. We happened to be going in the same direction." She said and pushed back the hood of her dark red cloak. She had skin that was a couple shades lighter than a Water Tribe girl and dark purple eyes. Oddly enough she had black hair like someone from the Fire Nation with a single crimson lock of hair hanging in front of her right eye. "Now, I believe you needed some firewood?" she asked and held out an armful of thin branches. Zuko stared at her and walked off. Nika followed him to Uncle.

"Z- ah, Zihao, who's this you've brought?" Uncle asked.

"I'm Nika." Nika said before 'Zihao' could reply. Uncle looked closely at her and nodded.

"Put the branches there." he said, indicating the center of the camp.

"What, you're okay with random strangers barging in like this?!" Zuko sputtered.

"Zihao, she isn't trying to kill us & she looks like a nice girl." Nika smiled & put down the branches. "I'm going to take a bath. Try to get along." Uncle continued. Zuko snorted and Nika sat down in front of the fire. As Uncle got his bathing stuff, Zuko sat on a log next to the bundle of sticks.

"Where did you come from?" Zuko asked her gruffly.

"Fire Nation, as far as I know. I've been living there as long as I can remember." Nika replied as she poked a stick into place.

"How could you have survived there? You look like a Water Tribe peasant." he scoffed.

"Well, I was the leader of a street gang called the Western Dragons. I did well enough with them." she said.

"Do you want to take a bath, Nika?" Uncle asked. Zuko started but Nika just nodded and stood up slowly. After she left, Uncle lit the fire & sat across from Zuko.

"Well, what did you find out?" Uncle asked.

"She says she's from the Fire Nation & used to be the leader of the Western Dragons." Zuko said.

"Really? What a surprise." Uncle murmured.

"What do you mean?"

"The Western Dragons were one of the strongest street gangs in the Fire Nation & had many skilled benders. They named themselves after, well…me. They used many of my techniques as well." Uncle shrugged.

"Not bad, I suppose." Zuko said. Uncle looked at the sky; it was getting dark. Nika walked into the camp, looking surprisingly dry even though she was wearing the same clothes she had on before.

"Well, you can sleep on the ground and Nika will get your sleeping bag. I'll sleep on the other side of the fire." Uncle said to Zuko.

"What?! I'm not–" Zuko spluttered.

"I'll sleep on the ground. I'm so used to that & it'll be hard to adjust to a sleeping bag." Nika said.

"Good." Zuko said & lay down in his sleeping bag. Uncle shrugged & lay down in his. Nika sat near the fire, with her head on her knees. The last thing Zuko heard before he fell asleep was the sound of Uncle's snoring & the girl's quiet humming.

(-_-}

Zuko's stomach grumbled when his nose detected the aroma of beef. He could hear Uncle chatting away happily with that new girl.

"Hey, wake up." the girl said and nudged Zuko in the side. He opened one eye and growled.

"Well, if you don't want the food, I'm good with that." she shrugged and walked away. Zuko scowled and got up. The girl had put two bowls filled with stew on a flat rock on top of the embers of the fire. Uncle was eating his bowl of stew and watching the clouds skid across the sky. Zuko walked down to the stream and washed his face and rinsed out his mouth. When he got back, one bowl was gone & Uncle was putting the rolled up blankets into the saddle that the girl- Nika -was giving him.

"Your bowl's on the fire." Uncle said. Zuko sat down in front of the fire and ate the stew.

"I'll wash out the bowls." Nika said and held out her hand. Zuko handed her his bowl and she walked down to the stream.

"What a nice girl. She can even cook." Uncle said as he patted his stomach. Zuko grunted and mounted one of the ostrich horses. Nika came back into camp and put the bowls in Uncle's saddlebags.

"Zihao, let her sit behind you." Uncle ordered. Zuko scowled but before he could say anything, Nika said that she would meet up with them wherever they chose to stop.

"Are you sure?" Uncle asked, looking worried. A past leader of the Western Dragons or not, a lone girl in the woods with possible bandits...not a pretty picture.

"It's fine, I can protect myself." she grinned at him. "I'm sure Grumpy must have told you. Besides, I've lived here for some time, so I know the terrain." 'Grumpy' snorted & accidentally kicked the ostrich horse. It screeched & shifted in place until Uncle patted the ostrich horse on the neck. He gave Zuko a disappointed look & Zuko looked away. It was an accident, but it wasn't like he was trying to be particularly careful. Uncle got into the saddle in front of Zuko & lightly held the reins.

"Well, no matter. We'll walk with you-unless you don't want the company of an old man?" Uncle smiled at Nika.

"I'm good so long as _Zihao_ has no complaints." Nika said with a smug grin. Uncle gave Zuko a warning look. Zuko sighed & shrugged. Uncle smiled at Nika once more & kept up a steady stream of conversation that never seemed intruding or boring to her.

And so, the Fire Nation's exiled Prince, the elder brother of the most dreaded leader in the world, & a girl who had more secrets than even she knew, started their journey.

A/N: So I hope you realize that Zihao is Zuko, right? The only time he's called Zihao is in conversation because this chapter is supposed to be third person. But every chapter onward will be first person unless I say otherwise (don't worry, I'll say who's viewpoint it'll be at the beginning of the chapter).


	2. Water

A/N: I'm back with another chapter! Ridiculously late I know, but I was trying to take over Nickelodeon to give me the rights over A:TLA. Sadly, that didn't happen. Ah well, there's always next time...with a disguise so the security guards don't recognize me. Any suggestions?

" "- speaking

' '- thinking

Water - Yoichi

I sat on the ice floe with one leg propped up & the other out in front & wondered what the heck I was doing. I was supposed to be learning how to fish so I could 'learn something useful for once & support my family' according to my dad. But instead I was freezing my butt off on this chunk of ice without a single fish in sight.

"Shouldn't the fish have come by now?" I whispered to my fishing teacher, Akihiko. No need to scare off potential fish.

"Be patient. It's only been 15 minutes." he whispered back. He was sitting cross-legged near the edge of the ice & watching the frigid ocean intently. His spear was near his right hand, whereas mine was probably still in the bag behind me. I think. Akihiko was my fishing teacher, but I didn't really know him. I'd seen him around a few times in the main square of the Southern Water Tribe, Moon & Ocean Square, & a few of my friends messed with him, but I wasn't that kind of guy. A guy can't help if he's rich or poor.

"I think I see something." Akihiko said & he shifted from his cross-legged position to a kneeling position without making a single sound from the ice. I slowly shuffled over to him, trying to match his quietness.

"Is that it over there?" I whispered & pointed to a pale flash of white that seemed to bob up & down indecisively. Akihiko mumbled something & when I looked back, he nodded. He handed me the spear & I gripped it with both of my hands. No need to drop the spear & look like an idiot.

"You're going to have to reach over & when it comes back up, stab it in the back. You'll have to stretch pretty far out, but I'll hold you steady." he said. I nodded & tried not to think about how cold the water would be. Or the fact that it was only a couple of inches away. I took in a deep breath, let it out, & slowly wriggled forward. The flash of white seemed to be just out of reach, but every time I tried to get close to it, it fled a little further. I ended up having to lay on my stomach, with half of my chest hanging out over the water. I finally managed to stab the white thing in the back.

"I got it, but I think you're going to have to help me up." I said more loudly now that I had gotten the fish.

"Of course." Akihiko replied. I heard him stand up when suddenly my head went underwater. There was a crazy amount of pressure on my head, making me unable to lift my head. I hadn't taken in a breath & whatever air I had in my lungs became bubbles that I saw hazily as I continued to struggle. Everything was turning dark as I grew weaker & weaker...

Water

I watched as the boy was being drowned by the other one.

'Fool. You must never put yourself in a precarious position in front of a person you do not trust.' I said coldly. The boy felt surprise & momentarily stopped his instinctive struggling.

'Who-who are you?' he asked me in his head.

'You do not have enough time for me to answer such a complex question.' I sneered. 'Now, keep quiet as I take care of business.' I enveloped his entire brain & pushed his consciousness to the side. I could feel his eyes changing color-most likely to a blackish blue, the color of the sea during a stormy night & the rush of my power through his veins. I pushed his arms back, creating a water whip that lashed back at the boy on the ice. I heard a surprised yelp & had a savage grin on my (My? Why would I want someone like this? But alas, I was stuck with him.) boy's face. I helped my boy breathe more easily in the water as I made him slither back onto the ice. I made him stand up & face the other one.

"Why did you want to drown me?" my boy yelled with my voice. I have to say, my smooth, deep voice was far superior to his squeaky one-but how could he have taken control, even for a moment?

"Your father ruined my father's business! If it weren't for him, I would have been just as rich & high as you in the social system-no I'd have been better!" the other boy yelled back, looking wild-eyed. My boy felt puzzled-he wasn't _that _high up, he may have had a dance or two with the Princess, but surely she had had to do that with everyone at the parties held for her for the sake of politeness, right?

'You clueless fool,' I snarled at him, 'Do you think that this other one-'

'Akihito.'

'No matter! Do you truly believe that he would have even _seen _an invitation to your Princess' party?' _  
_

'Well, he had said that his family used to be rich...that must have meant something, right?' my boy replied. I snorted & was about to say something when I saw something out of the corner of his eye. I had kept my boy's eyes focused on the ice in front of his feet & so I hadn't noticed till it was almost too late that Akihito was trying to charge at me with the spear that was not slowly heading to the ocean floor. I cursed under my breath as I shifted to the side & the spear missed me by a handsbreadth-I was getting sloppy. I casually lifted some water out of the Ocean ('May he be blessed for ever.' I thought & rolled my eyes), formed it into a 3 spears half the size of Akihito's, & dropped one right behind the blade, another in the middle of the shaft, & the last only half an inch away from Akihito's knuckles. Akihito stared dumbfoundedly at his skinned knuckles. I punched him in the face (at least my boy knew how to make a decent fist) & Akihito stumbled back, howling as he held his bleeding nose. He stumbled back towards me with one fist partly extended & I drew more water from the Ocean. This time I bound Akihito's arms, hands & legs to his side. I drew off the water from the boy's parka & looked around the ice floe. A canoe was attached to the ice floe on the eastern side (my boy was on the southern side), the supply bags were only a couple of feet away, & Akihito had stopped struggling & was now just staring at me with a terrified look. I knelt down & held his face in my hand.

"This is for your own good." I whispered & I hit him in the temple. His eyes rolled up & his head lolled to the side. I stood back up & ran my boy's hand through his hair. It was an oddly fair shade of brown which, along with his much darker blue eye color than normal, made me doubt that my boy was completely Water Tribe.

'I am too Water Tribe!' he protested.

'It matters not. I suppose you can at least get back to the Southern Water Tribe on your own?' I asked waspishly.

'Of course!'

'Good, then I'll leave you to it.' I said. I felt exhausted after my first time manifesting directly into my boy's body.

* * *

Water- Yoichi

After I managed to lug Akihito into the canoe & figure out how to balance the supply bags so that I could sit in the canoe without capsizing it, I was exhausted. Then I had to row us back to the main island that most of us from the Southern Water Tribe lived on. There were always a few weirdos trying to live 'close to Nature' on one of the outlying islands, but even they had to come back to the main island for some things. By the time I reached the gate, it was almost curfew & I just made it in. I dropped Akihito off at a inn where I told the innkeeper to turn him in to the Guard in the morning. I rowed down the canals to the back of my house, tied the canoe to a stake at the back of my house, climbed up the side of the house into my open window (that side of the house had fallen into slight disrepair creating handy hand & footholds), & collapsed into my bed without even bothering to change out of my outside parka.

I woke up the next day, sweating like crazy. I tore off my parka & all of my undershirts & sweaters until my chest was completely bare. I looked outside & saw that the sun had already risen. I was already too late to my Guard training classes but I should have been able to gain an audience with Father & tell him what had happened. I washed my face & mouth with the bucket the servants had left in my room & I changed into a formal outfit of a light blue shirt, a dark blue jacket with white fur at the ends of the sleeves & white beads stitched into the Water Tribe emblem on the back, black pants, & sealskin boots with good, solid soles. I went downstairs, giving absent nods to the servants who greeted my arrival with "Good afternoon, Master". I went first down to the kitchen & charmed an assistant chef into giving me a bowl of seal jerky & some sea prunes. I finished the food in record time, gave a kitchen maid the bowls, & walked over to my father's office.

After a last minute check to make sure I was still clean, I took in a deep breath & walked inside. The office was just like I remembered from when I was younger- a spacious room with a blue & white theme, like just about anything else in the Water Tribe. I saw that Father was in deep discussion with Mother, or at least had been until I came in.

"Father, I request an audience with you." I asked formally. He had taught me & my little brother to act as if we were in court all the time-especially with him. He waved a hand impatiently at me. I raised an eyebrow at that but told him what had happened with Akihito-& the other one in my head. My mother turned pale & Father had a strange expression on his face.

"Wh-what's the matter?" I asked, feeling terrified. Nothing ever fazed my father or my mother. Once, Brother told me that I had nearly drowned in the canal near the house when I was 5 but Mother had just calmly proceeded to pump the water out of me & breathed into my mouth until I started to breathe on my own once more.

"Do you remember the stories I used to tell you?" Mother asked me quietly.

"Yes." I replied. She used to tell the stories of the Avatars & how their mighty powers brought peace to the world. She also told me about the spirits-I remembered a story about a Forest Guardian &... Koh the Face Stealer. Not the best story to tell young children.

"Remember the one about the Elementals?" she asked.

"Marin." Father said, with a warning tone.

"Yes...one for each Nation right? Earth, Fire, Water, Air...they worked with the Avatar to create balance within the Nations. Though I don't suppose there would be an Air Elemental any more." I mused.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Mother said with a small smile. "Anyhow," she continued with a more serious look, "I'm sure you understand the implications of your situation."

"W-Wait you're saying that you think _I'm _an Elemental?" I sputtered.

'Got that right, child. I am inside of you, so you are now meant to help the others keep the world in balance.' that male voice yawned in his head.

"What's wrong?" my mother asked, looking at me intently.

"I heard that guy's voice in my head again."

'Mm, me being a guy is relative...but it'll do for now.' the voice sighed. I angrily shook my head.

"Yoichi, it's ok. We have a plan." Mother said & gave Father a pointed look.

"Oh, yes, I have commissioned a ship to take you to the Earth Kingdom. After that, a prepaid guide should lead you further inland to some town-Gaoling, I believe." Father said as he shuffled his papers.

"So you're just sending me off? Why can't I stay here? Besides, since now I'm apparently a Waterbender, won't I need a teacher?" I asked.

"Well, think about the fact that Akihiko's family will be mad. I'm not sure if they approve of what he tried to do, but regardless, they wouldn't be pleased at the turn of events. It would be best for you to stay away for awhile. You are now of age to be apprenticed into the business, so it would not seem remiss for you to be missing around this time of the year." Mother said.

'I think I can handle teaching Waterbending, even to someone like you.' the voice in my head said rather irately. There was a knock on the door & Mother said,

"Come in." A servant walked in with 2 full bags & put them on either side of me. I looked inside & saw that they were filled with my clothes.

"I made sure that you would be ready on time by asking the servants to pack as soon as you left your room." Father said. "It's time we go down there. Shall we walk together like we used to?"

* * *

So, we walked down to the shipyard as a family (because you just can't say no to Father-as Mother found out when Father courted her). When we reached the ship I was supposed to board, the Blue Penguin, we all stopped & just stared at each other for a moment. I wonder what an outsider would have made of the scene: a short, heavy set man with a wife a head and a half taller than him saying what seemed like a final goodbye to their son, as if the son was going off to war. The stranger wouldn't have been too far off.

"Take care of yourself." Father said gruffly & held out his hand. I shifted a bag up higher onto my arm & shook his hand. Mother hugged me & whispered in my ear,

"I've packed your Guard weapons. If you need to use them, don't hesitate." I nodded & she let go. When the captain called out that the ship would leave soon, I waved goodbye to my parents & went on board. As the ship pulled out of the harbor & even as it went out of the gates, I could see my parents just waiting there on the dock. I didn't think that they would do something so sentimental.

A/N: Well, that was fun. Oh, I forgot to say that Nika meant victory in the first chapter. As for Yoichi, well...I could say but that would ruin some of the story :P. You could look it up, but I promise I'll explain it in either the second or third chapter he's in. So with that, I hope I leave you in a better mood now that you realize I really will go on with this story & explain things as they come! Please review! You know this makes an author's day, so please do it for me. I can update faster if you do, so it's a win-win :D


	3. Earth

A/N: Still don't own A:TLA I'm afraid, so you can't sue me for it. About those reviews...I'd really like some more. Thanks for the reviews Michele & grape!

Nekane - sorrows

Rovena- famous joy

Meilin - plum grove

Renshu - benevolent forbearance

Earth - Nekane

I was talking to my friend Mira when my little sister came to me with a message.

"Mama says you have to get ready." Rovena pouted. She was at that strange phase where she acted like a diva & expected to be treated like one too. She obviously didn't know that our mother could order around divas too.

"Bye Mira. Let's go Rory." I said to Mira & gave my sister a big kiss on her cheek. Rory wiped her cheek & grumbled something under her breath. I grinned at her & we walked down to our house.

[~]

Mom was waiting for us in front of the house. As soon as we came into view, she started issuing orders.

"Rovena, get the good tablecloth from the clothesline & polish the dining table. Nekane, you just need to get ready." Rovena slunk away & I went into the house & upstairs to my room.

My outfit was lying on my bed- a deep green dress with a light green trim at the bottom. There were even bits of gold peeking through here & there around the (too low for my taste) collar, around where my waist would be, & my sleeves. Mom had spent a lot of money for this dress-she wanted to make sure I looked good when the possible bridegroom's family came. I sighed & put on first an undershirt then the dress. Then I had to put on my shoes (good quality, sensible dark brown shoes to show that I was practical) & finally the 'ceremonial' ornaments. They weren't really ceremonial at all-Grandmother had worn them & swore that the girls who had worn something similar had happy, satisfying married lives.

So, to placate my mother & Grandmother, I braided a lock of my hair & wove a moon flower into it. I put on an Earth Kingdom pendant (to show my steady, unwavering loyalty-like the earth) & braided the rest of my hair & fastened the end with a panda lily pin (a symbol of love-because I was apparently in love with a guy I hadn't even met yet). This took more time than you'd think it would because I had waist length hair. Mom thought I looked nice with long hair & it would show I could take care of something for a long time.

I'm sure that by now I sound like some strange doll & I felt that way as well. But I went along with my mother's plans because it would keep her happy. I wanted to make her happy, since after my brother was a stillborn baby, she couldn't have any more children & then my father had died of some wasting disease. There was a painting of him on a shelf in the living room (Mom said he would've liked to see how our lives were after he had gone) but he looked nothing like the Papa I knew. The picture was of a rather eager looking young man with shining brown eyes & a thick moustache, a small smile on his lips.

My Papa was a old, tired shell of the man in the picture. He had stayed on a bed in the living room for as long as I could remember. Most of my vivid memories with him were from when I came home from school & saw him holding Rory on his lap & chatting with my mom. She would be cutting the vegetables & listening to his stories or laughing at his jokes. Mom says I remind her of him but Rory looked more like him...

"Nekane... are you awake?" Rory said. I blinked in surprise when I realized I had walked back downstairs to the living room as I had been reminiscing. Rovena was standing in front of me with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry Rory, I just got a bit distracted." I shrugged. She gave me a small smile as she adjusted my dress a little to the left.

"You know...you'll make a wonderful bride." she said quietly.

"That-that's the least of my concerns. I mean the guy might not even like me." I said quickly & looked at the floor.

"If he has any sense he will & his family will too. But honestly...I don't want you to get married." she replied. Before I could say anything, I heard Mom loudly introducing the guests into the house.

"You put the cleaning things back, right?" I whispered as I pulled her over to the stairs.

"Yeah, you should go talk to h-"

"Please, I'd like a bit of time before I have to go into 'Perfect Wife' mode." I rolled my eyes. "I'll just help you get ready."

[~]

We held hands as we walked down the steps quietly. Mom was entertaining the guests but she grew silent as she stared at us. The prospective groom & his family looked at us as well. I felt odd when I realized that the strangers were looking at us so intently.

"So, Meilin, do you plan on giving my son a choice in his future wife now?" said a man who seemed to be the father of the guy I might have had to marry. His wife giggled as if he had said something witty & the guy I was going to meet blushed & looked away.

"No, Rovena is a little too young for marriage as of yet. In a few years, perhaps." Mom replied with a strained smile. Rovena & I walked across the floor & sat in front of the family.

"Nekane is it? What interesting names you & your sister have. Ah yes, my name is Chen & I am Renshu's uncle. My wife, Ling, is of course Renshu's aunt." said the man who I thought was Renshu's father. Ling nodded to me & I tried to gracefully nod in a way that was respectful but not subservient.

"I hope you won't mind Meilin, but I'd like to ask you a few questions. Of course, I have already agreed to Nekane's engagement to Renshu but there are a few things it's always best to know beforehand. I'm sure you understand?" Chen continued.

"Of course." my mom answered frostily with a deadly gleam in her eye. Most people would have picked up on at least her tone, if not the scary look in her eyes, but oblivious Chen carried on.

"Has there been any history of long term diseases in the family?"

"Only my husband's-which was caused by impurities in the water near his workplace. He was one of the volunteers from this village who helped build a fort on the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom to repel the Fire Nation's navy. The ash from the coal burners in the Fire Nation boats lead to his disease." Mom answered stiffly.

"I see." Chen said after an awkward pause. "What kind of work did your husband do there?"

"I just told you-he helped build the fort."

"Was he an Earthbender?" Chen asked with a strange look on his face. I looked at Mom, wondering how she would handle the situation. There had been a few riots recently with some of the richer families & their Earthbending guards. Honestly, there were too many guards for the taverns & other places to handle along with the regulars, leaving the guys here feeling a bit...disgruntled.

Papa couldn't Earthbend (who knows, maybe that could have saved him from pretty much choking to death on the ash or whatever it was that caused his death) but through some strange desire of Gaia's, I could Earthbend. I don't know why Gaia saw fit to give me the power to manipulate Her world but I don't bother using that power often. I don't need it right now & besides, I know enough to defend myself- Earthbend a fist sized rock & shoot it at someone's head. If he doesn't duck, then he's out cold-which would be fine by me.

"No, he could not." Mom replied at last. "Why, do you have a problem with Earthbending?"

"Not at all!" cried a flustered Chen. "In fact our Renshu is an Earthbender! Show them something, Renshu."

"I wouldn't want to create a mess here, Uncle. Plus it would create a huge hole in the floor." Renshu replied quietly. Poor Chen looked rather embarrassed at that & his wife Ling patted his arm.

"How about we let them talk alone in peace?" my mom suggested, trying to move past the awkward moment.

"Yes, yes, of course." Chen agreed. Renshu & I stood up & I led him towards the back of the house, behind the staircase to the garden. I opened the door & walked outside, relishing the cool evening breeze.

"Um, so...do you enjoy gardens?" Renshu asked shyly. He had only walked a few steps forward from the door frame.

"I do like the flowers, but I'm afraid I'm no good at identifying them. That's my sister's area of specialty. But she couldn't grow one to save her life." I laughed. Renshu smiled back at me. I walked out a little further until I found what I was looking for-a circle of stone seats. I sat down on one & gestured to a seat beside me. Renshu sat on a seat to my right.

"I'm kind of ashamed to ask this now but, what's your last name?" he blushed.

"My last name is Takahashi. What about yours?" I asked.

"I'm Li Renshu."

"Li Nekane sounds a bit odd." I wrinkled my nose.

"Well, we can keep your last name if you want." he said quietly. I looked over at him & saw that he was staring at his dark brown shoes.

"Do you even want to marry me?" I asked quietly.

"Do you want to marry me, a complete stranger?" he responded.

"Not really." I said. I took out the panda lily pin & moon flowers & unbraided my hair. I sighed in relief as my scalp stopped hurting from the pressure of the heavy braid.

"Doesn't all of that hair get in the way?" Renshu asked.

"Yes, I wish I could chop it all off like Rory, but Mom likes my long hair."

"Is it your hair or hers?" he asked. I glared at him.

"I want to keep her happy. You have no idea everything that my mom had had to go through to provide for us by herself." I snapped.

"She's your mother & wants you happy. I don't think she's trying to mold you into her. You have to make your own path." he retorted. **  
**

"I know that." I glowered. "It's just...she needs some happiness now."

"I understand. After all, I came here to keep my aunt & uncle happy." Renshu shrugged.

"Neither of us plan on marrying...I'd say that's a good enough reason to delay it. We can talk to our families about everything else eventually." I had no clue why I was being so blunt with a complete stranger-but maybe that _was _the reason. How could you talk about something so personal with someone you knew? I couldn't & here was proof-spilling my guts to my no more fiance.

I sighed as I took off my shoes & put my feet on the packed earth of the path. There was a slight shudder & I grimaced when Renshu looked at me strangely. It had been some time since I had last Earthbent, & apparently I must have accidentally done something.

"Shall we go in together?" Renshu asked quietly.

I looked back at him & smiled, "I think we should."

A/N: I'm using Gaia as the goddess of the Earth Kingdom. Not many still believe in distinct gods/goddesses in that region, but maybe a few might... So Nekane seems a bit wimpy, but she does get a spine in the next chapter. She'll be more fleshed too then, I hope ^_^' Next chapter will take some time, but I've already started so...I have no clue anymore -_-' I'll give it to you when I can :P


	4. Air

A/N: So...how about leaving me a review? I'm gonna need something out of this deal 'cause... if I don't get at least 5 reviews, I might not go on with the story. So if you bother reading this, just leave a comment or two. You know, 'Hey, this is good. I like it!' or say something I could work on or just yell at me if that's your thing-I don't care. Anything will do.

Feng-wind, the point of a weapon

Xia- halo

Daichi - great land, great wisdom

" " - speaking

' ' - thoughts

Air - Feng

"Nooo!" I moaned as Maylin jumped on top of me.

"Mrrow." she grinned triumphantly. I groaned again & burrowed back into my sheets. I was finally going back to a well deserved rest when a girl's voice ripped into my peaceful atmosphere,

"Feng, stop playing with that cat & get out here! Grandmother's coming home today & expects everything to be clean!"

"Oh shoot!" I yelped as I hurriedly pulled on clothes that I could actually wear outside.

~o~

"And in 5 seconds, Maylin, he shall appear before us. 5...4...3...2...1!" Xia remarked to Maylin.

"I appear at your command, Accursed One!" I yelled as I yanked open the dark red wagon door & hopped down to the ground.

"Don't make me whack you with a stick again." she sighed. "Do the laundry & clean the front & back of the wagon, as well as the windows."

"I'm doing most of the chores!" I complained. Xia changed my mind with her usual brand of persuasion- chasing me around with her stick. She was trying to train with the long staff, but thankfully Grandmother told her to start with the short stick. I had always been faster than Xia & the few other children we'd see on our travels with Grandmother. That little fact had always made Xia madder & she used to constantly train to try to get faster.

"Slow as ever, huh?" I taunted. Xia growled & put on a burst of speed. I easily outran her back to the wagon, ran up the steps, & jumped up onto the wagon's roof.

"Ah, ah, ah, you know the roof can't handle more than one person." I smirked. Xia huffed & tried to knock me off by hitting the edge of the roof.

"You're still too short." I yawned as I sat down on the roof.

"Whatever, just get the chores done before Grandmother comes back." Xia said & crossed her arms.

"I'm not going down there until you leave." I said. Xia rolled her eyes & muttered something under her breath as she walked away. I jumped down from the roof & landed on the ground with my knees bent. Xia didn't have to chase me around since Grandmother was coming-eventually. If Grandmother said she'd come Friday at 8, expect her on Saturday at 9 & I was just as...laidback as her. No one ever called Grandmother lazy; Xia had gotten Grandmother's skill with the short stick.

Around the time I was washing the windows & waiting for the clothes to air dry on the clothesline on the other side, I heard rumbling & felt the earth shake.

~o~

"You're kidding me! For the first time ever, she's on time?!" I yelled as I ran to the clothesline to save the clothes from the oncoming chaos. I was too late. Suddenly, a bulge appeared in the earth 5 feet from the wagon & practically exploded. When most of the dirt stopped flying, I saw Grandmother coming towards the wagon.

"Feng, Xia, have you two done your chores?" Grandmother asked as she opened the door & looked inside.

"Well-" Xia & I chorused as we looked at each other. We had done most of the chores but Grandmother expected everything to be done according to her standards.

"You two have done enough. Take a break. My, what a strong wind!" she said when she came back out & she squinted up at the sky.

'It's been pretty windy for days now. Hadn't she noticed?' I thought as I picked up the once more dirty clothes off the ground.

~o~

I practiced my Earthbending stances outside every evening & today was no exception. They felt odd to me & I still hadn't managed to shoot even the smallest pebbles. I figured I just hadn't practiced enough yet-my mother's side of the family was full of Earthbenders, including Grandmother & Xia. Xia was my first cousin, but it was pretty hard to tell-she had the typical brown hair & eyes & semi tan skin of an Earth Kingdom native but I, on the other hand, had iron grey eyes, some strange mixture of black & brown hair, & I was just a little too pale to be a typical Earth Kingdom villager.

"Bend your knees more. You need to be stable, like the earth." Xia said, carefully balancing a boulder on her elbows. All I could see of her torso was the boulder & the tips of her elbows coming out in the front.

"How can you tell? You're not looking at me." I said. I bent my knees a bit more & immediately felt a slight burn in my calves.

"You always have shallow Horse stances." she replied. "And I know you can bend your knees a bit more." I huffed & complied, wincing as my legs felt more heat & pain. At least I wasn't working on my arms-the laundry had taken me almost 1 & 1/2 hours to do-there had been that much dirt.

"You know, I still haven't managed to Earthbend the twelve years I've been forced to practice. You started shooting rocks when you were 5. Why should I keep practicing?" I asked as I slightly rose from my Horse stance.

"Even if it turns out you aren't a late bloomer according to Grandmother, these stances help build up your core. So go back into your stance, you lazy bum!" Xia said.

"Please, you're not the one in this terrifically low stance." I stuck my tongue out at her. She immediately sank into a lower stance than me.

"Keep talking, kiddo!" she snorted.

"It's only because of that pebble you're holding." I rolled my eyes.

"C'mere & hold this pebble!" Xia roared. I sprinted away & laughed as Xia tried to hold onto the boulder while chasing me. She threw the boulder at me, but I put on an extra spurt of speed. I heard a loud thud as the boulder crashed into the ground. As we were running around, I saw Grandmother looking intently at something in the wagon. Before I could see more, Xia started shooting rocks at me & I was too busy trying to avoid them to notice anything else.

Air-Grandmother

"I'll have to tell Feng soon." I sighed as I looked at my deceased husband's picture. Feng had gotten his grandfather's eyes which, along with his mother's skin, showed that Feng was more than just an Earth Kingdom child.

"Will he be able to handle the truth?" I asked. My husband Daichi simply kept smiling at me from inside the portrait.

'He's a good, hardworking boy but the truth could corrupt anyone.' I thought. 'So much power & responsibility-he's only 16!' I looked outside & saw Feng taunting Xia as he ran much farther ahead. He was already exhibiting signs of the power inside him-but I was certain he still didn't know the extent of his abilities.

"Tomorrow. I'll tell him tomorrow." I promised Daichi. I wanted him to have at least one last day of innocence before I was forced to tell him the truth.

A/N: There it is! I told you it wouldn't take too long. What do you think the secret is? It's a bit more than the obvious one. So like I said before, review & I'll continue the story & you can see what will happen next.


	5. Nika

A/N: So, by popular demand *cough djinfiend cough*, I'm back! And in my typically late fashion, I've brought you another chapter. Enjoy & review!

_Italics for dreams..._

Fire - Nika

"So, why are you guys here? Are there problems in the Fire Nation?" I asked Grumpy as we traveled further down the path. I saw his shoulders stiffen & his Uncle looked at me.

"There were problems back home, so we decided to try our luck in the Earth Kingdom." his Uncle shrugged. I nodded & said

"Same here."

"I figured as much. You don't look like you could afford a trip like that just for fun." Zihao said.

"Neither do you." I retorted. He glared at me & then looked away. I rolled my eyes & walked out a little faster than the ostrich horse's current relaxed pace.

(-_-}

We kept traveling until Zihao's uncle called for a break. He said the breaks were for me, causing Zihao to be even more grumpy. I appreciated the thought (even though we were already going at a rather laidback pace), but I thought that the breaks were really an excuse for Zihao's uncle to serve himself more tea.

"It is always good to take breaks when on a long journey. Have some tea, you two it will refresh you." Uncle said after he had managed to set up the precarious pile of firewood I had collected for him just a few minutes before.

"It's just hot leaf juice." Zihao shrugged.

"What?" his uncle gasped. "No family member of mine calls tea hot leaf juice!" He grumbled under his breath as he walked over to the ostrich horse & took out a couple of pieces of flint. He went back to the firewood & carefully started a small fire.

"Could you get me a water pouch & cups, Nika?" his Uncle asked me.

"Uh, sure." I said & rubbed the back of my neck. I felt a bit awkward since I didn't even know what to call the guy who was trying to help me. I mean, I couldn't exactly call him 'Zihao's uncle' could I? Besides, the last thing I wanted to do was compare him to Grumpy.

"Ah, there's just enough." Zihao's uncle said. I blinked in surprise when I realized that I had automatically gotten his water pouch & some cups while I had been wondering what I should call him.

"Can I call you uncle too?" I blurted. In the corner of my eye, I could see Zihao rolling his eyes. His uncle looked up at me with a surprised look on his face.

"I suppose. Sure, why not? It would make sense for us to have some sort of relationship to you, since we're traveling together." he smiled.

"Thanks, Uncle." I grinned.

* * *

Fire - Iroh

While I was talking to Nika, I noticed Zuko scowling & looking at the ostrich horse often.

"You don't look anything like him." Zuko said.

"It's called marrying people outside of the Fire Nation." Nika retorted.

"We would never lessen ourselves to having to do such a thing." Zuko narrowed his eyes.

"Nephew, why don't you walk the ostrich horse out a little farther & set up camp?" I told him, trying to distract him. He shrugged & walked over to the ostrich horse. I watched him mount the horse & guide it back to the beaten path we had traveled upon.

"Not too-" I started to say but Zuko dug his heels into the ostrich horse's sides, causing it to screech as it ran down the path. "Fast." I sighed.

"He can't go too far without us. Can you walk that far?" Nika asked with a worried look on her face while looking down at the ostrich horse.

"I'll be fine, after all a cup of tea would be great for this." I smiled at her. I heated up my hand & ran it over the teapot, careful to hide it from Nika. She didn't seem to notice-she was in almost a trancelike state staring down at the road.

"I see. And he should go no further." she whispered to herself. In the distance, I noticed the ostrich horse was pulled back suddenly & I saw Zuko dismount. Nika blinked & looked back at me.

"Um, did you say something?" she asked with a timid smile. I quickly looked back at the teapot & was pleased at the tea's progress.

"Sit down & enjoy some tea with me." I patted the ground next to me & she obliged me. I took the teapot off of the fire & poured some tea for us both.

* * *

Fire - Zuko

The ostrich horse shook his head & pecked at the ground. Zuko sighed as he tethered the ostrich horse near where he thought he should set up camp. He had no clue why he felt that camp should be set up here-even though it was a pretty good place. It was in a natural hollow relatively close to the path but hidden by trees. Even with a fire, it would be hard to see anything here. Speaking of fires, he should have set one up by now.

After gathering up a bunch of branches, he set them up & shot a small fireball at it. The ostrich horse squawked & settled as far away as possible from the fire. Zuko sat down with his knees up & put his head on top of his knees. He wondered why was Uncle so determined to stay with Nika while they were traveling together. Something about Nika felt a little...different. Maybe that was why Uncle wanted to make sure she stayed safe.

Zuko snorted & rolled his eyes. No matter what Uncle thought (or even what little he himself felt), Nika was just a peasant & that was all she would ever be.

* * *

Fire - Nika

"Hey Zihao, quit zoning out." I said & hid a smile when his head shot away from the fire & he had a shocked look on his face.

"You have chosen a good place for us to rest, nephew." Uncle nodded in approval. Zihao shrugged & took out the blankets from the saddle bags beside him. He passed 2 of the blankets to Uncle & spread out his own where he had just been sitting.

"Can't even bother giving me my own blanket, huh." I sighed. Zihao didn't bother to respond, instead he asked Uncle about dinner.

"We're running low on supplies." Uncle sighed. "We have enough left for a small meal that we can eat in the morning and by afternoon we should reach a town. But there's always some tea!" he grinned. Zihao groaned & flopped back onto his blanket. He winced as he sat up & rubbed the back of his head. I bit my lip until tears started to form in my eyes to contain my laughter. The last thing I wanted was for him to fly off the handle because I laughed at his idiocy.

"Well, sleep is the best way to stave off hunger." I said & Uncle nodded. I spread out my blanket on the opposite side of Zuko & lay down carefully. Uncle walked over to Zihao's side & lay down his blanket as well.

"Good night, Nika." he called out and he lay down.

"I can only hope." I sighed quietly & closed my eyes.

(-_-}

_I was 8 years old & crawling around behind a shop that sold tea and dumplings. I didn't like the tea very much (they only threw out really spoiled tea leaves-and one e__xperience with those was enough to keep me away. But every once in a while, a couple of dumplings were thrown out with only a few, easily removable dark spots. It wasn't much but it was definitely better than nothing. I had seen a woman with dark brown hair & a kind smile __serving customers __inside the shop. I liked to imagine that she was the one who set out the food for me._

_"Shoo, brat! We don't need urchins around here when the Lord of Kirachu Island arrives." I heard a man hiss. I felt a wave of cold water hit me & I gasped in shock. I scrambled out of the alley & bumped into someone._

_"What's this? An alley brat dares to attack me?" I heard a lazy drawl from above me. I looked up and saw a man with a scrawny black mustache &, oddly enough, mismatched black & brown eyes glaring down at me._

_"Hold on, Chun. Look at her eyes. We could use this one." said a woman with her brown hair in a simple topknot beside him. I felt colder when I looked at her & I instinctively knew she was the more dangerous one._

_"Of course." he said with a cold smile. "Another little fish for our pond."_

I woke up with a gasp, sweating. Uncle was still sleeping, but Zihao was missing. I heard a rustling sound behind me & I twisted around, automatically clenching my hands into fists.

It was Zihao, with a startled look on his face. Then he saw that it was just me & scowled at me as he walked over to his blanket. He lay down & closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. I bit my lip to try to stop myself from smiling at how silly Zihao was, trying to stay mad at me.

I resolved to stay up the rest of the night-the last thing I wanted was to experience more nightmares. After a few hours, I saw the sun start to rise. I stood up & prepared the ostrich horse for the journey ahead.

A/N: This chapter's a bit choppy I know, but I didn't want to give every thing away at once. Forgive me for being so late! I had so much going on...but I'll be better from now onwards, promise! The little symbols I'm using as page breaks are supposed to represent each person. Unfortunately, the only one I think actually fits is Nika's (the wiggly bracket is supposed to be her red streak of hair). As the story goes on, you'll see distinguishing characteristics of each main character. If you have any ideas of symbols I can use, (try to limit them to symbols already present on the keyboard) then PM me.


	6. Yoichi

A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Here's my present to you. Still don't own A:TLA...oh sigh...my domination schedule is so full now...

Jiaying- good & clever

Water-Yoichi

"Pull you good for nothings, pull! Pull because MY life depends on it!" the First Mate shrieked at us. I grunted & set my feet solidly against the deck again. The sailor who was in charge of keeping the 'Unagi bait' (meaning me & the other passengers) belowdecks & out of sight muttered under his breath as he pulled the rope attached to the sack that had fallen overboard. I was right behind him & I had to not only pull the rope but I had to figure out a way to put the rope somewhere that neither the sailor nor I would trip over it. As I pulled along with the sailor, I ended up just throwing the rope to our right. After almost a minute of tugging, the sack finally slid up far enough for the sailor to reach over & grab it. The First Mate rushed over & snatched the sack from the sailor.

"The Captain would've had a fit if you had lost this. And don't think I'd save you if that happened." the First Mate yelled as he ran to the Captain's room, dragging the sack behind him.

"That sack was heavy." I said & rotated my arms. "What do you think was in it?" The sailor rolled his eyes & walked down belowdecks to see how the other passengers were doing. I shrugged & was about go belowdecks as well when a sharp voice called out,

"What about that rope lying on the ground?" I turned around & saw a frowning girl with brown hair pulled up into a ponytail & blue eyes walking towards me. She was wearing thick boots & a tiger sealskin cape- a far better choice than some of the Earth Kingdom ladies I had seen shivering in their finery belowdecks.

"What about it?" I asked.

"Put it away." she said & put her hands behind her back. I sighed as I picked it up & coiled it carefully by stretching out some rope the length of my arms, putting my arms together, & putting that coiled bit of rope in my left hand, as I continued to keep coiling the rest the same way.*

"Why didn't you just do that without me having to shout at you?" she sighed.

"But then I wouldn't have met you." I winked. She rolled her eyes.

"Go back down belowdecks." she said.

"It feels good out here." I said.

"You're not seasick?" she asked. She looked more closely at my clothes. "Oh, of course, Water Tribesmen are practically born on the Ocean, am I right?"

"Is it really _that_ hard for you to tell I'm Water Tribe?" I looked out to the ocean. The ship was going at a good pace & there was a nice breeze. It really wasn't that cold today, since the sun was shining & no clouds were in the way.

"You look a bit different than the Water Tribesmen I've seen...but after looking a bit longer, you do look like you're a Tribesman." she shrugged.

"Are you from the Water Tribe too?" I asked.

"Nah, I'm just an Earth Kingdom peasant. I might have a shred of Water Tribe ancestry, but that's the closest I'd be to the Water Tribe." she replied.

"Oh good. It'll be nice being with a girl who doesn't try to compare her uncle's hunting expeditions to mine." I smiled at her. She laughed at that & walked down belowdecks. I didn't follow her just yet-had to make her wait a little after all-& relaxed a little while longer under the mid afternoon sun.

'Might as well work on your Waterbending now.' said the voice in my head. I was fairly certain I wasn't mad-I had never heard of someone who had gone mad & suddenly knew how to Waterbend. The voice in my head had first spoken to me about 3 days ago-& had saved my life. I turned towards the ocean so no one would notice anything odd while I tried to talk to the voice.

'Really? What moves are you going to teach me? The ice spikes you threw at Akihito's spear? Or that water whip?' I asked him (I thought the voice sounded like a guy, but I wasn't sure).

'No. We're starting with the basics because you really have no idea what you're doing.' the voice said. He seemed a bit...tired, if a voice in my head could sound tired. What could make a voice tired?

'Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about. Anyways, try to lift up some water.' the voice snapped, with some of the energy I remembered him having from the first time he appeared.

'How am I supposed to do that? I can't Waterbend!' I retorted.

'You obviously have the ability. I can do many things, but I can't make people spontaneously bend.' the voice said. 'Just relax & I'll guide you.'

'Don't take over though.' I warned him.

'Very well then, follow my commands.' he said. An odd feeling of coolness passed through my arms & they swept over the ocean of their own accord, picking up a small stream of water. My arms lifted the stream to face level & the voice said,

'Try to control the flow on your own.' The coolness started to fade from my arms & I had to start to support the water on my own. It was surprisingly difficult & my arms started to burn a little. I had decided to move my arms around a little to experiment how it would affect the water when I heard a quiet "Hey." behind me.

"What-" I turned around & saw the girl standing there with her arms crossed in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Seeing what you've been up to." she replied. She looked at the water that was now swirling between my hands & raised an eyebrow. I managed to hold up it up all of 1 second before the water fell. Before the water splashed onto the deck, the coolness spread through my arms once more & my arms automatically whipped back most of the water. One hand went back to my side while the other still grasped some water. That hand shaped the water into the form of a flower.

"You were watching me, huh? Like what you see?" I smirked. Her lips quirked into a smile before she could turn it back into a neutral expression.

"A reward for your efforts." I said smoothly & gave her the flower.

"Thanks...but you're going to have to go belowdecks." she said as she carefully took the flower.

"With you? Sure." I smirked again.

"It's late & all the passengers should be belowdecks. You know how fast it turns to night here. I don't sleep on the passenger side either." she said.

"Oh well, there's always next time." I smiled & I walked past her to go down belowdecks. I could see her watching me as I went down.

* * *

I went to my room & lay down on my bed. My parents had given the Captain quite a bit of money apparently, because I had a small but tidy room to myself. Well, it was tidy before I had taken everything out of my bags. How had my mother managed to stuff everything in?

'Why did you make that flower for that girl?' I asked the voice.

'You seem to be used to this sort of thing & I figured it would be best if you could get a crew member on your side.' the voice replied. There was a knock on my door so I got up & opened it.

It was the girl from the deck.

"I have your-you!" she sputtered when she saw it was me.

"Miss me already?" I grinned.

"I'm here to give the rich kid his bucket of water." she said. "Now get out of his room."

"Actually, I'm the rich kid. And I'll take that, thanks." I said as I took the bucket & closed the door in front of her shocked face. I sighed as I put the bucket down on the floor. I took one of the cloths my mother had packed, dipped it into the water, & wiped my face with it. There was another knock on my door again & I dropped the cloth into the bucket before I opened the door to see the girl with a contrite look on her face.

"Sorry about that. It's been a long day & just when I'm about to rest, the Captain tells me to run a cabin boy's errand." she sighed.

"I understand." I replied.

"So...you're Yoichi from the Southern Water Tribe? Your parents are related to the Southern Water Tribe royalty?" she asked.

"Very distantly." I shrugged. "Comes in handy when you're in trouble & you don't have to go to a lot of dull dinners. You have the advantage of knowing my name. What's yours?"

"I'm Sato Jiaying." she replied. A bell rang from somewhere inside the ship & I heard people walking around outside my cabin.

"Tell you what, I'll make it up to you by taking you somewhere special where we can eat dinner together." she continued.

"Sure." I said. After all, what could possibly go wrong?

A/N: *I realize this probably isn't the way you do it on a boat, but this is one way I've been taught to put away rope (for climbing).

I decided not to give Yoichi a last name because none of the people in the Water Tribe ever mention having a last name. But there are many instances of Earth Kingdom (& Fire Nation) people having last names, so that's why Nekane & Jiaying have last names. Remember, I'm naming them according to the Chinese/Japanese system of last name then first name. According to a names site, one meaning the name Yoichi has is "bewitching/seductive first (son)". Yeah, I kinda couldn't resist. XD And here he is, living up to his name.


	7. Nekane

A/N: Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry! I finally updated this...R&R please!

Earth-Nekane

I hummed quietly as I kneaded the dough for tonight's dinner, Mother didn't like the sound so I typically didn't do it, but she seemed rather on edge nowadays. After Renshu & I had broken off our engagement about a week ago, Mother had become rather reticent & quiet. And after the shock of seeing my newly cut hair...I shook my head & sighed, Of course it would take time to adjust. Her dutiful daughter had turned into someone else-someone I hoped would become the true me.

"I think you should take Earthbending lessons." Mother said. It was the first time in days she had spoken directly to me.

"Why? I know enough to defend myself." I frowned.

"I suppose. But-"

"Besides, we don't have extra money." I shrugged.

"Actually, Renshu offered to teach you." she said.

"Really?" I turned around & raised an eyebrow.

"Yes...I guess he wanted an excuse to see you."

"He could've asked to see me."

"Don't act so innocent." Mother rolled her eyes & I laughed.

"Well I don't know...where would we be practicing?" I asked.

"He said that he could come here or you could go to his house."

"Rather forward isn't he, asking me to come to his house."

"I suppose it doesn't matter to them anymore, since you two broke off the engagement." she said. "But of course, I told him to come here." I heard a knock on the door.

"Don't tell me that's-" I said.

"Well, I did accept on your behalf so it might be him." Mother said & went to open the door. I groaned & took a cup of water out of the bucket of water I was using for dinner to wash my hands.

"I didn't expect you to come so early, Renshu." I heard Mother say from the living room. I took off my apron & readjusted my clothes.

"I apologize for coming here so unexpectedly, but my uncle & I were in town & since we were done with our business, I thought it would be best for Nekane to get her first lesson in Earthbending today so she could practice until our next session." Renshu replied.

"Let's do this." I said as I walked out of the kitchen & into the living room. Renshu stood up & I noticed he wasn't wearing shoes.

"Good, you don't have shoes on. We can go to the garden." he said & I nodded. Mother went back to the kitchen & Renshu & I went out to the garden.

"How much do you know about Earthbending?" he asked as he scanned the garden.

"Honestly, not that much. I know that earth is the stable element that balances all the others. Earth is the element that won't change." I shrugged.

"Not quite-landslides are an example of the earth changing without warning. I like to think of Earth as the element that provides the substance of the world." Renshu frowned & forced a large column of earth to shoot out of the ground.

"Punch this." he said as he stepped away.

"Okay." I raised an eyebrow, but I walked over to the pillar anyway. I lifted up my fist, took in a deep breath, & stepped as I punched the pillar. A section of the pillar shot out, zooming past the garden wall.

"Well I hope no one gets hurt by that." Renshu said. "Not bad, Nekane, you just need to work on your control."

"Yeah." I said sheepishly.

"You can work on your control by slowing down. You should work on aim too." Renshu said & drew a mid sized circle in the ground. "Aim rocks at the center." I took in a deep breath & was about to begin when he said, "I have to go back to my uncle now. Go ahead & work on your bending. Just remember to use control."

"Got it." I said & blew a piece of hair out of my face. He stared at me a little longer & I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, right, I have to go now. Sorry." he said quickly & went back into the house. I heard the front door slam shut & I chuckled. Maybe Renshu did like me...

A/N: Short & fluffy I know, but I wanted to update. I'm sorry for taking so long! Next Earth chapter will have more substance & take her story further.


End file.
